SB 273: Marriage and domestic partnership: minors.

Existing law authorizes an unmarried person who is under 18 years of age to marry upon obtaining a court order granting permission and the written consent of at least one of the parents or the guardian of each underage party to the marriage, as specified. Existing law requires the court, if it considers it necessary, as part of the court order granting permission to marry, to require the parties to the prospective marriage of a minor to participate in premarital counseling, as specified.

Existing law provides that 2 unmarried, unrelated adults who have chosen to share one anothers lives in an intimate and committed relationship of mutual caring may establish a domestic partnership by filing a declaration with the Secretary of State if certain requirements are met. Existing law provides that a person under 18 years of age who, together with the person with whom he or she proposes to establish a domestic partnership, meets the requirements for a domestic partnership other than the requirement of being at least 18 years of age, is capable of consenting to and establishing a domestic partnership upon obtaining a court order granting permission to the underage person or persons to establish a domestic partnership. Under existing law, registered domestic partners have the same rights, protections, and benefits as spouses.

This bill would require the court, in determining whether to issue an order granting permission for a person under 18 years of age to marry or establish a domestic partnership, to require Family Court Services to separately interview the parties intending to marry or establish a domestic partnership and at least one of the parents or the guardian, as specified, and to require Family Court Services to prepare and submit to the court a written report containing, among other things, recommendations for either granting or denying the parties permission to marry or establish a domestic partnership. If Family Court Services knows or reasonably suspects that either party is a victim of child abuse or neglect, the bill would require Family Court Services to submit a report of the known or suspected child abuse or neglect to the county child protective services agency. The bill would also require the court to consider whether there is evidence of coercion or undue influence on the minor. The bill would require the court to separately interview each of the parties, as specified, prior to making a final determination regarding the court order.

If the court issues an order granting the parties permission to marry or establish a domestic partnership, and if one or both of the parties are 17 years of age or younger, the bill would make the parties eligible to request a marriage license or to file a Declaration of Domestic Partnership no earlier than 30 days from the time the court order was issued.

The bill would exempt from the above-described requirements a minor who is 17 years of age and who has achieved a high school diploma or a high school equivalency certificate. The bill would exempt from the above-described 30-day waiting requirement a minor who is 16 or 17 years of age and who is pregnant or whose prospective spouse or domestic partner is pregnant.

The bill would require that a minor granted permission to marry or establish a domestic partnership be provided with specified information, including the procedures for legal separation or dissolution of marriage or termination of a domestic partnership, and the rights of a minor to enter into contracts.

The bill would require the court, if it considers it necessary, as part of the court order granting permission to establish a domestic partnership, to require the parties to the domestic partnership of a minor to participate in counseling before the domestic partnership is established, as specified.

Existing law requires the person solemnizing the marriage to return the marriage license, as specified, to the county recorder of the county in which the license was issued within 10 days after the ceremony.

This bill would also require the person solemnizing the marriage to include with the marriage license a copy of the court order granting permission to marry, if one or both of the parties to the marriage were minors at the time of solemnization of the marriage.

Existing law requires the local registrar of marriages, who is the county recorder, to transmit to the State Registrar of Vital Statistics all marriage certificates accepted for registration, as specified.

This bill would also require the local registrar to submit to the State Registrar, at least annually, the total number of marriage certificates and the age and gender of each party, as specified, concerning marriage certificates in which one or both of the parties were minors at the time of solemnization of the marriage. The bill would authorize the local registrar to dispose of this information no earlier than 2 years after the local registrar submits the information to the State Registrar, and to immediately dispose of the copy of the court order after that submission. The bill would authorize the State Department of Public Health to implement these provisions through an all-county letter or similar instruction from the State Registrar without taking regulatory action. By creating new duties for county officials relating to certain marriage certificates, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

The bill would require the State Registrar and the Secretary of State to each create a document, no later than March 1, 2020, with annual updates, disaggregated by county, containing only the total number of marriage certificates or registered domestic partnerships, respectively, and the age and gender of each party, concerning marriage certificates or registered domestic partnerships in which one or both of the parties were minors, as specified. The bill would require the State Registrar and the Secretary of State to make the document available to the public upon request. The bill would require, only for purposes of completing the document, the documentation of the gender of each party, if provided, on the above-described court order granting permission to marry or establish a domestic partnership. The bill would also require the documentation of the date of birth of each party on the court order.

This bill would also make conforming changes to related provisions.

Existing law requires a certified copy of a court order granting a minor permission to establish a domestic partnership to be filed with the Secretary of State with the Declaration of Domestic Partnership.

This bill would authorize the Secretary of State to dispose of a certified copy of a court order immediately after the Secretary of State uses the court order to create or update the document reflecting the total number of domestic partnerships and the age and gender of the parties.

Existing law, the Emancipation of Minors Law, provides that a minor is emancipated if he or she meets one of certain conditions, including if he or she has entered into a valid marriage. Under existing law, an emancipated minor is generally considered to be an adult, as specified.

This bill would make a minor emancipated if he or she has established a domestic partnership.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.